Frustrated by a lack of informed and honest review websites covering a wide range of electronic music, I write them myself.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Underworld - Everything, Everything

Junior Boy's Own: 2000

As far as some folk are concerned, Underworld’s career ended here. That’s just stupid, as the group carried on fine following Darren Emerson’s departure. True, they never generated the same kind of buzz as their ‘90s heyday, but it’s not their fault if tastes, fashions, and populist opinion change with time. Still, I can’t help but wonder if they’re enjoying the retreat from the limelight, having the freedom to explore whatever music they so choose (though it’s funny hearing some synth-pop creeping into their recent work again, considering that was where Underworld started at).

At the turn of the century though, the group was still riding their peak, and this live album is about as perfect a captured snap-shot of their star-status as one can get. Released concurrently with a DVD, the music was cobbled from various performances of a worldwide tour. The movie's awesome as well, splicing in footage of several concerts along with videos that were produced by the firm Tomato. The full show's currently up on YouTube, if you're so inclined to watch.

A number of live CDs featuring electronic acts had existed by 2000, but Underworld upped the ante on theirs, setting the bar on audio quality higher than it'd ever been before. It recreates an exquisite blend of punchy, in-your-face music, open-air resonance, and crowd ambiance, such that it's easy to feel you've got a front row spot near the stage. The beats pound with authority, Karl Hyde’s vocals are never drowned out, and the mixdown wisely raises the hollers and cheers in and out whenever an epic moment erupts from the music, yet never removes them altogether. About the only quibble one could have is that this is not a one-hundred percent live experience, with an obvious break between tracks mid-set probably done for time constraints - might it have been stage banter that we missed out there? Plus, the final track on the DVD, Moaner, is missing, but considering the title of this release, Cowgirl seems the more appropriate way to end on.

Right, the songs. This coming out shortly after Beaucoup Fish, there's obvious favoritism towards that album: King Of Snake, Jumbo, Push Upstairs, and Cups all get repped. The serpent song aside, I'm not a huge fan of these cuts, but they get a good showing here, especially the latter two coming early in the set as strong, energetic follow-ups to the soaring Kiteless. Speaking of Second Toughest In The Infants, crazycrazycrazycrazy Pearls Girl and, of course, the anthem Born Slippy NUXX also make their way into the show.

And that’s all. Yep, just a mere nine tracks on Everything, Everything. It may seem like a gyp, but most of them get a lengthy run-through, satisfying even the most jaded Underworld follower (well, maybe not so much those upset by the lack of dubthatboomonmybedboy material). In the end, this CD is as best an encapsulation of the Emerson years as you'll ever find.